Barnacle Daiquiri

I wanted to be in Red Hook today.  I wanted to go to the Barnacle Parade.  I wanted to surprise the crew at Fort Defiance and have a tiki drink with Zac Overman.  I wanted to shake daiquiris behind the bar.  But money, timing and a real bad ear infection seemed to conspire against me.  So I made this daiquiri as a whim, inspired by Cassie's, my co-worker, version with a mist of absinthe in the glass and the white rum split with Red Hook riesling.  Yes!  A wine cocktail!  And its delicious!

Below is the recipe and the video I made to send to St John and Zac at the Fort.

Barnacle Daiquiri

1 oz Red Hook Riesling
1 oz white rum
3/4 oz simple syrup
1 oz lime juice
mist of absinthe

Shake all but absinthe and strain into a chilled cocktail glass misted with absinthe.  Yhay Absinthe!

Keeping Up with the Collins

I must be homesick for NYC...more specifically, my home in Red Hook, Fort Defiance.  Lately my former job and co-workers have been showing up in my dreams.  I figured out that when outside forces threaten me, my sub-conscious goes to my "safe place", The Fort, to work out the problems.

Enough with Psychology 101!  Get to some drinks!  

In honor of the Collins section we used to have at Fort Defiance, I have created my own Collins section at SoBou for our Spring Menu.  Entitled "Keeping up with the Collins", it is a list of refreshing twists on the classic Collins (gin and fizzy lemonade).  I also threw in our most popular cocktail, The Faubourg Tall Boy since it is a combination of a Tom Collins and a Kir Royal.  




Michael Collins
1 1/2 oz Powers Irish Whiskey
3/4 oz Lemon
3/4 oz Lavender syrup

Shake, stop with soda in a collins glass, garnish with fresh lavender



Cumberbatch Collins
1 1/2 oz Gin
3/4 oz lemon
1/2 oz Benedictine
dash of simple
2 slices of cucumber

Shake, stop with soda in a collins glass, garnish with Cucumber



Joan Collins
1 1/2 oz Square One Basil Vodka
3/4 oz lemon
1/2 oz simple
muddled strawberry

Shake, stop with soda in a collins glass, garnish with basil



Phil Collins
1 1/2 oz Barrel aged Bols Gevever
3/4 oz Cointreau/simple
3/4 oz lemon

Shake, stop with soda in a collins glass, garnish with fresh thyme

Save The Fort!

Buy Junk Bonds!

In a magical collaboration with Jill DeGroff and my former employer Fort Defiance, you can now see my beautiful portrait on Jill's site AND get some junk bonds from the Fort!

Go to the site here and get some Fort Defiance Junk Bonds!  They make great Holidaze presents for your friends and family in New York City!

Fort Sandy

The Next Battleground: The Old Fashioned

Yes! 19th Century Old Fashioned

In recent years, we historically minded bartenders have fought the good fight for the case of the Martini.  A Martini is a drink consisting of Gin, Vermouth and sometimes bitters with a twist.  They are not made with vodka and no vermouth, and they are not Dirty.  They certainly DO NOT have any fruity thing like Apple pucker, pom or choco tacked on to the front of them.  They can be served in a martini glass, though I prefer an classic Nick & Nora.  If you like Vodka in a martini glass with no vermouth, you just ordered chilled Vodka in a Martini glass.  That, in no way, is a Martini.  If you do not like the taste of vermouth (and I keep my vermouth chilled and fresh so you really should like its delicious taste) then no amount should go into your Vodka drink.  Since Vodka, by its very nature, has no odor or taste, it won't matter if I make your drink "dry" or extra dry.  I splash or a full ounce, all you will taste will be vermouth.   


I could go on, but you know what I am talking about, right?  PS...if you really are afraid of Gin, try my Vesper.  It has converted 9 out of 10 dirty vodka drinkers when made by my hands.  What really helps is the story, and that is where we bartenders can flourish and nail the sale.

Em..No, thanks. 20th Century Old Fashioned.

While this battle obviously rages on, I see a new battlefield opening up.  The Old Fashioned.  I'll admit, as a young drinker, I was besotted with that mush of orange and cherry.  It was like a Shirley Temple for grown ups.  I always knew it was too sweet and asked for extra bitters and eventually requested no sugar at all.  Extra bitters, no sugar, nice cherries, bitter orange rind, the 20th Century Old Fashioned (as we called it at Fort Defiance) is not a terrible drink in the right hands.  Some drinks still demand this fruity slush, such as the Wisconsin Brandy Old Fashioned.


But a true Old Fashioned is from the 19th century and one of the oldest cocktails ever made, hence the name and the fabulous story that goes with it.  Bartenders...convert your customers with the story of how the Old Fashioned got its name and see your educated customers flourish with your sales.

The Story of the Old Fashioned

May 13th, 1806 Hudson, NY- the first recorded date of the definition of the word cocktail.   Spirit, bitters, sugar, water.  Boom.  That is it easy peasy.  It was basically a bittered Sling.  It was a drink, singular, like the Martini, not a class of drinks (see above).  Introduce ice and fresh citrus peel and you have got a more modern looking Cocktail.  More specifically, you have what we at Fort Defiance called the 19th Century Old Fashioned.  But when did the drink become old fashioned?  Well flash forward to the 1860's-1880's.  This is bartending's first golden age, the days of Jerry Thomas, Only William and the Bon Vivants.  You have all sorts of mustachioed barkeeps in vests and diamond stick pins making all sorts of drinks, lighting Blue Blazer's on fire and putting on a show behind the bar (sound familiar?).  Well an old timer would stumble into one of these new-fanagled saloons and order a Cocktail, you know, the DRINK.  Well these wise ass bartenders or "Mixologysts", as they called themselves, would ask what kids of fancy cocktail the old timer wanted.  After all they were trained and well versed in all sorts of cocktail creations, fizzes, flips, bucks, improved cocktails etc...


"No!  Just stop high there, fancy pants!", I imagine the salty old timer saying.  "I just want a cocktail, an OLD FASHIONED cocktail!"  There is the magical moment in the story.  "And shave that mustache, you hippie", he might have added in my imagination.


And there is how the Old Fashioned got its name.  So mix one up...its so easy to do at home and I can do it even when the cupboards are bare.  That reason is probably why the Old Fashioned is the most popular drink in this household.  The cupboards are often bare.  


Raise a glass to the old timers who just want an Old Fashioned cocktail!


The 19th Century Old Fashioned
2 oz Spirit (Whiskey, rum, tequila, gin etc...)
sugar cube or bar spoon of simple syrup or maple or honey
Bitters (oh just have fun and pick 1 or 2)
Citrus Twist


Build in an Old Fashioned glass (duh) and stir in big rocks.  Twist a spiral or large swath of citrus.  Mostly Lemon, but lime for rum is awesome and grapefruit for tequila and mezcal rocks my world.  This drink gets better as it sits.

Best Cocktail Bar in NYC

Boy, am I proud!

Mustache Hall of Fame Continues...

I could not help but ask this j'adorable customer, Michael, to share his mustache. He also shared some amazing "sexy" halloween costume pictures...Sexy George Washington, and himself dressed as Sexy Abraham Lincoln. He has some gams, let me tell you. Nice stems!

I hope he enjoyed his time here at Fort Defiance. I enjoyed his face.

Fall Cocktails

A chill has fallen over New York City and I am looking for ways to warm up my insides.  Good thing I love good booze.


With Oktoberfest right around he corner, I am enjoying more beer cocktails.  My colleague at The Beagle, Tom, has created a refreshing cocktail called the Hop Over.  Its a refreshing mix of IPA, lemon, Genever and Velvet Falernum, or rather Velour Falernum since Dan has begun making his own.Falernum is a spiced liqueur from the cariibean flavers with clove and lime zest.


On the seasonal front, its apple time here in New York State and I made my own appletini with the last of the fresh raspberries, apple brandy, lemon, honey and ginger. Grate cinnamon over a red apple slice fan and you have a real fall beauty.


Apple Brandy is a wonderful introduction to Fall cocktails.  At Fort Defiance we have the Marconi Wireless, a Manhattan variation with Lairds mixed with two kinds of sweet vermouth.  How can you go wrong with a Manhattan variation?


And this is my favorite time of year here in NYC.  The weather is spectacular so why not celebrate the change of seasons with my favorite drink, a Manhattan?  As long as your vermouth is fresh and your cherries aren't radioactive, a well made Manhattan should be easy.  Try cutting the vermouth with a rich amaro like Averna or a bitter one like Campari for a different twist on a Manhattan.  Or how about half bourbon half rye?  Its is Bourbon Heritage Month after all...


Indian Summer
2 oz Apple Brandy
1/2 oz honey syrup
1/2 oz ginger syrup
3/4 oz lemon juice
Fresh raspberries


Muddle raspberries with ginger and honey syrup. Shake with brandy and lemon juice and strain over fresh ice into an old fashioned glass.  Garnish with a fan of sliced apple and fresh grated cinnamon.

Very Edible (and workable) Manhattan

The King Bee (Photos: Gabi Porter, Metromix)

In this week of Snowpocalypse 2.2, I was lucky enough to have two gigs in Manhattan. Its nice to have a reasonable commute by the glorious MTA and to leave my car buried under feet of snow with parking rules suspended. Double yhay.

My wonderful boss was kind enough to ask me to help him at the Edible Manhattan Good Spirits event at Le Poisson Rouge this past Tuesday. I love working these events because I get to see so many friends all in one place and I get to try so many delicious pairings of food and cocktails. Well I try...its hard when you are pumping out over 500 cocktails in less than 3 hours.

Our Famous Deviled Eggs

But oh, what a cocktail it was! St John came up with the delightful King Bee, a tasty mix of Comb Vodka infused with Darjeeling tea, lemon, benedictine and topped with sparkling wine. Comb Vodka is made locally up in Port Chester, NY from pure honeycomb. The "vodka" title is a bit of a misnomer being that it is only distilled twice and the honey flavor really comes through nicely.

Check out some great pictures of the event by my neighbor Gabi Porter from Metromix here!

Me and the Bossman

You can see we look exhausted after this event...so we stumbled over to Peels (which is like Fort Defiance on Manhattan steroids) for a staff meeting. It was so crowded when we came in and I noticed a large table in the back being occupied by only two gentlemen. I mockingly chastised them for hogging the whole table and they smiled but suddenly I noticed why they had the table to themselves...it was Marc Jacobs and his boyfriend. Yikes! Maybe I am not ready for Manhattan. I am not so good with the VIPs.

The First Salute

There is a new drink going in the menu at Fort Defiance tonight. It captures the historic zeitgeist of my beloved workplace and is one of my favorite recent creations.

I wanted to create a tasty rum drink using an aged rum that would be a nice transition from our glorious Indian Summer to the cold winter months ahead. I also have been playing around with making my own version of the tiki classic, Don's Mix. I made a simple syrup with Cinnamon, grapefruit zest and star anise. Star Anise has been a favorite since tasting my Grandmother's homemade Pizzelles as a child. (And a trip to Niagara Falls last week to visit my 95 year old Aunt Nevia reminded me I STILL have not put my Grandmother's Pizzelle iron to the test!) I have used those lovely star anise pods to infuse bourbon and make Coquito. The flavor comes through nicely in a syrup too.

Armed with "Abby's Mix", some lime and Chairman's Reserve, I had a stellar new drink. The rum adds a hint of vanilla and a full bodied boost while the syrups spiciness comes through to the end of the sip. Now....I needed a name.

So came to the rescue our local bon vivant, Phil. When I mentioned the Rum comes from St Lucia, he stood and saluted me at the bar, a not so easy task after two of said cocktails. Turns out, island nation was the first to salute the young America and recognize them as a sovereign nation, a mere 4 months after declaring independence. The extraordinary historical writer Barbara Tuchman wrote a book about the event and its importance in our Revolutionary war.

Well, that certainly fits the theme of our Fort Defiance. Its a delicious drink, so it will fit in on our tasty menu. It even fits Toby's guidelines for a good drink (3 ingredients!!)

The only thing....after some cursory research (I MUST check my facts) I found out it was the nearby Dutch controlled island of St Eustatius that actually fired the first salute. St Lucia was under British and French control back and forth over the years and was probably in no condition to be as cheeky and brave as those Dutch.

Still, its a good story and a good name and I am sticking with it! By the way...its 82 degrees in St Lucia today. Want to to go?

The First Salute
2oz Chairman's Reserve Rum
3/4 oz "Abby's Mix"
3/4 oz Fresh Lime

Shake with ice and serve straight up.

From TheFirstSalute.org:

On November 16, 1776, a small American warship, the ANDREW DORIA, sailed into the harbor of the tiny Dutch island of St. Eustatius in the West Indies. Only 4 months before, the United States had declared its independence from Great Britain. The American crew was delighted when the Governor of the island, Johannes de Graaf, ordered that his fort's cannons be fired in a friendly salute. The first ever given by a foreign power to the flag of the United States, it was a risky and courageous act.

Pain in the Killer

So yesterday after a sultry day and a work out at the gym, I planned on going home to change into a Tiki inspired outfit for the opening of Painkiller. Instead I had to hang around downtown for possible work reasons and had to buy an emergency dress (and a sexy new French bra to properly fit in said dress...Oo la la!). But the time I got to Painkiller, it was packed with hot sweaty masses and load of people outside waiting to get in. I was feeling sluggish (lugging around 8 bottles of Rum and Tequila will do that to ya) and was getting a bit miffed as I watched my friends disappear one by one inside while I somehow stayed outside.

I am old school NYC girl and I do not cotton to waiting in line. Particularly when I know this is a place I will come back to many times over. What is the point?

Besides...I have updates from friends inside on the Twitter.

Thanks to @drinkswmindy for the shot

So I took off defeated and flummoxed and just wanting a bit of special attention.

Thank goodness for Esteban, who had a brilliant plan to go to Daniel for a drink. Why not? I did have my sexy new bra on...even if I did pair it with white and green Pumas. And I just need to feel special.

Well if a gorgeous $19 drink poured over an ice ball with a rose pedal in it does not make you feel special, nothing will.

The New York Sling

Daniel's cocktail program is straightforward and approachable and anyone could like these drinks (like Fort Defiance). The drinks are extremely drinkable, refreshing and served with that flair and professionalism that warrants the big price tag for a treat. Every once in a while you need to splurge to make yourself feel a bit better. Like my sexy new French Bra.

Susan behind the bar was a doll and gave us a sampling of their famous petite fours and some tastes of the other drinks. I was enamored with the rose nectar used in my New York Sling and tickled by the White Cosmopolitan on the list...That was a drink me and my Cocktail Daddy discovered years ago!

After that we closed down The Subway Inn with Miguel and played jukebox music til the wee hours of the morning. I sang along with Kansas, danced salsa and toasted my brothers with sweet Irish Whiskey.

Pain killed.

Punch in the Mouth!

The Dizzy Fizz and RyeGirl Duke it Out!
Photo: Lush Life Productions

Last night Katie Darling and Bols Genever had a Punch Party at Fort Defiance in Red Hook. Fort Defiance has always felt like a home away from home, with its comfortable setting, friendly staff and amazing food and drinks. The main force behind all of this is proprietor/barkeep St. John Frizell. His warm spirit and cool drinks keep the vibe mellow. The fact that his adorable infant son makes a frequent appearance at the restaurant just adds to the friendly family feel. And with Southern boy (love them) expert in the kitchen, Bobby Duncan, makes some tasty bites. And I am not alone in this feeling. Time Out Magazine awarded Fort Defiance at 2010 Eat Out critics choice award!

I saddled up to the bar after a very unproductive brunch shift but a much more productive 20 mile bike ride (Bike Butt!) and was greeted immediately with a tall cool glass of tasty punch. It was zesty and fresh, made with lemon, orange, lots of spices and Bols Genever, natch. It was like a Tom Collins punch, and perfect after my three bridge ride; Williamsburg (2x), Manhattan and Brooklyn. It was also perfect for washing down my green papaya salad, shrimp and grits, and pecan pie. Yes, I feasted. Did I mention I biked 20 miles? Besides, it is all good home cooked food and the perfect Sunday meal with my cocktail family at my home away from home.